Sunday, December 12, 2010

I've always liked the idea that a country's embassy in another country is considered sovereign -- that Argentina's embassy in Norway is considered to sit upon Argentinean soil.

During the 1989 American invasion of Panama, dictator, drug runner and CIA employee, Manuel Noriega, took refuge in the Vatican embassy in Panama. The Americans couldn't touch him because the property was considered sovereign Vatican land.

That didn't stop the US from blasting the property with high-decibel music, chanting and even the screeching of rabbits being killed (I'll bet the poor sot who had to gather that audio never thought he'd be asked to do such a thing when he was suckered by the Be All You Can Be commercials).

In the ever-expanding-exploding Vatican child sex scandal, the Vatican has made a very interesting revelation about what it considers sovereign territory. It appears the Roman Catholic Church believes the bodies -- particularly the genitals -- of children are also part of its sovereign territory. Incredible.

The Vatican believes the Irish government failed to respect and protect Vatican sovereignty during the investigations.. . .

The Murphy Commission's requests offended many in the Vatican, the Holy See's Assessor Peter Wells (protect strictly) told DCM, because they saw them as an affront to Vatican sovereignty. Vatican officials were also angered that the Government of Ireland did not step in to direct the Murphy Commission to follow standard procedures in communications with Vatican City. Adding insult to injury, Vatican officials also believed some Irish opposition politicians were making political hay with the situation by calling publicly on the government to demand that the Vatican reply. Ultimately, Vatican Secretary of State (Prime Minister equivalent) Bertone wrote to the Irish Embassy that requests related to the investigation must come through diplomatic channels via letters rogatory.

The Vatican was angered. The bad guys were angered. The villains were perturbed.

They should be in prison.

The Roman Catholic Church should be recognized as a criminal organization, broken up and its parts sold off.

And it's criminal apparatus of priests, bishops, cardinals and pontiff should be put on trial for crimes against humanity.

... and so you win a 2 kg bag of Kirkland trailmix, a month of car washes at the Farrel Street We Wash While Yous Wait (no more than 4) and a pair of wigger jeans from the Galveston Row Salvation Army!